It can be intimidating to sign up for college classes. You sit at your computer staring at professors’ names, having no idea if they are any good. A great tool is ratemyprofessor.com for student feedback. Better yet, see what fellow collegiettes have to say about their favorite profs! Here are a few examples of top-notch UCD professors, who make class enjoyable and your education worth every penny. If you need more specific advice, talk to your major advisor!
Are you a pre-med student?
Try taking a class taught by Dr. Thomas Adams in NPB (Neurology, Physiology, and Behavior). Katie Sims, a fourth-year pre-med student, says “[Professor Adams is] one of the best professors I have ever had. If you are a pre-med, you really need to take this class. It will give you a good picture of what to expect as a doctor. He is the geek we all look up to. I’ve taken 3 of his endocrine classes (1 undergrad and 2 grad) and would take more if I could.”
Do you have to take a chemistry class?
Take a class with professor Steven Farmer. Lizzy Connell, a third-year Biology major, says “Dr. Farmer is one of the most helpful professors I’ve had. Organic Chemistry is not an easy class, but he is very fair with his tests and grading. If you go to his office hours he’ll show you a magic trick and offer you snacks!”
Need a good class to fulfill your GE requirements?
Take a Humanities class with Professor Carlee Arnett. Mark Miller, a fourth-year Engineering student, says “This class was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my Davis career. [Arnett] is so funny, and actually communicated with students like they were real people. I’m an engineer that took this class as a GE. I 100% recommend this class to anyone else who needs a good GE class.”
Do you need an upper-division composition class to fulfill the writing requirement?
Why not make this class a worthwhile experience? Dr. Andy Jones teaches the UWP (University Writing Program) courses to help you fulfill this requirement. Josh Heckman, a fourth-year International Relations major, says, “I really appreciated Andy’s wide-eyed humor – he connects almost everything we read to other assigned works, or to pop culture. I would take another class with him in a minute. He seems to have enthusiasm and want students to learn and better themselves as writers.”
Want to take a class with a funny professor?
Have inside jokes with that one professor? Take one of Bob Becker’s Astronomy classes. Sarah Perez, a third-year Physics major, says, “[Becker’s] an absolutely amazing character, very hilarious and knows exactly what he’s talking about. He once told me that his purpose in life is not to teach or do research, rather he was born to tell jokes. You will not forget this class. All around great teacher.”